LAKE CHAD BASIN - COMPLEX EMERGENCY

Transcription

1 LAKE CHAD BASIN - COMPLEX EMERGENCY FACT SHEET #8, FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2016 MAY 25, 2016 NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 4.2 million People in Need of Emergency Food Assistance in the Region WFP March million People Displaced by Boko Haram-related Insecurity in Lake Chad Basin OCHA May million IDPs in Nigeria OCHA May ,591 IDPs in Cameroon IOM April ,208 IDPs in Niger UNHCR May ,195 IDPs in Chad OCHA March 2016 HIGHLIGHTS Rapid assessments in northeastern Nigeria indicate urgent humanitarian needs More than 20,000 newly displaced people registered in Cameroon s Far North Region between February and April ERC Stephen O Brien calls for increased assistance for Lake Chad Basin response KEY DEVELOPMENTS HUMANITARIAN FUNDING FOR THE LAKE CHAD BASIN RESPONSE IN FY USAID/OFDA 1 $36,185,857 USAID/FFP 2 $102,436,217 State/PRM 3 $74,600,000 USAID/Nigeria $33,800,000 $247,022,074 As the security situation in the Lake Chad Basin gradually improves, relief actors are evaluating security conditions and humanitarian needs in newly accessible areas. UN multi-sector rapid needs assessments conducted in northeastern Nigeria s Borno and Yobe states in mid-april found significant humanitarian needs across multiple sectors including food security, health, nutrition, protection, relief commodity, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) among households affected by Boko Haram-related violence. Response actors note that further assessments are required to confirm the extent of humanitarian needs throughout the northeast. From May 16 19, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) Stephen O Brien visited Niger and Nigeria; during the visit, he called for the humanitarian community to address the urgent needs among vulnerable households in the Lake Chad Basin, particularly in northeastern Nigeria. ERC O Brien also urged relief organizations to coordinate with development and security actors to ensure a comprehensive response to the complex emergency in the Lake Chad Basin. In April, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a revised Humanitarian Needs and Response Overview (HNO) for the Lake Chad Basin, requesting $535 million to support approximately 5.2 million people in need. The UN estimates that approximately 9.2 million people in the region require humanitarian assistance. USAID/OFDA recently provided $2 million to a non-governmental organization (NGO) partner to support vulnerable households in northeastern Nigeria with emergency relief commodities, shelter assistance, and WASH support. The new funding brings total FY USAID/OFDA assistance for the Lake Chad Basin response to more than $36 million. 1 USAID s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) 2 USAID s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) 3 U.S. Department of State s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM) 1

2 REGIONAL Approximately 4.2 million people in the Lake Chad Basin are experiencing moderate-to-severe food insecurity, according to the UN World Food Program (WFP). The total includes nearly 2.8 million people experiencing Crisis IPC 3 and Emergency IPC 4 levels of food insecurity in affected areas of Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, as well as 1.4 million people in Cameroon s Far North Region experiencing moderate-to-severe food insecurity. 4 This data reflects results of the March 2016 Cadre Harmonisé analysis a food security analysis process used throughout West Africa in Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, as well as a September 2015 WFP Emergency Food Security Analysis in Cameroon. Humanitarian actors emphasize that insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin has impeded the collection of verifiable food security and malnutrition data in the region, particularly in Borno. The USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), WFP, and other USAID partners continue to collect additional information, including in newly accessible areas of the Lake Chad Basin, in an effort to address food security needs among the region s most vulnerable households. During a May 14 regional security summit in Nigeria s capital city of Abuja, UN Special Representative of the Secretary- General and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel Mohamed Ibn Chambas expressed concerns regarding human rights violations connected to counter-insurgency operations in the Lake Chad Basin. According to Amnesty International, Nigerian and Cameroonian military forces have committed significant protection violations against civilians including raiding villages and detaining men, women, and children during the campaign to defeat Boko Haram. The UN special representative urged the governments of Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, and Niger to ensure that all counter-insurgency operations comply with international humanitarian law. The humanitarian community has noted involuntary returns of displaced Nigerians sheltering in Cameroon to areas of origin in Nigeria. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had registered more than 22,000 Nigerian returnees from Cameroon as of April 2016; the UN agency notes that many of these returns occurred under conditions that violated international refugee law. The UN anticipates that between 60,000 and 70,000 additional Nigerian refugees may return from Cameroon to Nigeria in 2016 and UNHCR is working with the Government of Nigeria (GoN) and the Government of the Republic of Cameroon (GRC) to establish a framework for the safe and voluntary return of Nigerian refugees. In a May 4 joint communiqué, the two governments pledged to sign a tripartite agreement with UNHCR by July. UNHCR plans to lead a Regional Protection Dialogue from June 6 9 in Abuja; the dialogue will bring together officials from the four Lake Chad Basin countries to discuss critical protection issues including conditions for safe, voluntary, and dignified population returns; international standards relating to forced return; and determination of conditions conducive to voluntary repatriation. In a recent survey of refugees in Minawao Camp in Cameroon s Far North Region, approximately 76 percent of respondents expressed a desire to return to areas of origin, the UN reports. The remaining 24 percent cited financial and security-related concerns as deterrents to returning to home areas. However, even among respondents wishing to return to Nigeria, concerns linger; while 45 percent of wish to return immediately, 38 percent want to wait and see how the security situation evolves. The 2016 Nigeria Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) requests $198.8 million to assist 514,000 people across Cameroon, Chad, and Niger through December As of May 6, donors had contributed nearly $31 million or approximately 15 percent of the requested total. The 2015 Nigeria RRRP, which requested $174.4 million, received $81.3 million or 47 percent of requested funding. With $21.3 million in FY 2016 assistance, State/PRM is providing conflict-affected households in Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria with multi-sectoral assistance. State/PRM assistance also includes support for UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) in Cameroon and Niger. 4 The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a standardized tool that aims to classify the severity and magnitude of food insecurity. The IPC scale, which is comparable across countries, ranges from Minimal IPC I to Famine IPC 5. 2

3 NIGERIA During a May trip to Nigeria, ERC O Brien met with GoN representatives, including the governor of Borno, as well as internally displaced persons (IDPs) sheltering in a camp in Borno s Konduga local government area (LGA). ERC O Brien noted the need for emergency food, protection, shelter, and WASH assistance to conflict-affected households and urged donors to increase support for vulnerable households in the northeast. Relative security gains in northeastern Nigeria in recent months have enabled IDPs to return to some accessible areas of origin in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states. Although the security situation in the northeast particularly Borno remains tenuous, UN-led multi-sector rapid needs assessments in accessible areas of Borno and Yobe in mid-april recorded IDP returns to areas of northern and central Borno including Bama, Damboa, Dikwa, and Monguno LGAs following military clearance operations in the state. Response actors are evaluating humanitarian needs among vulnerable households as access in the northeast increases. As of May 19, Nigeria was hosting an estimated 2.4 million IDPs. This total includes 2.2 million IDPs identified by the USAID/OFDA-supported, International Organization for Migration (IOM)-managed Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), as well as 200,000 IDPs recently identified by a joint UN assessment in newly accessible areas of Borno. Borno State hosts approximately 1.6 million IDPs or two-thirds of Nigeria s total IDP population. Boko Haram-related conflict has limited harvests, destroyed livelihoods, and reduced trade in northeastern Nigeria, FEWS NET reports. In addition, the depreciation of the Nigerian naira has caused food and fuel prices to increase countrywide, reducing household purchasing power and limiting imports of livestock and staple goods such as rice and wheat. As a result, FEWS NET predicts that vulnerable households in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe will face Crisis levels of food insecurity through September FEWS NET anticipates that the most-affected households, constituting less than 20 percent of the total population in affected areas, will likely experience Emergency levels of food insecurity. As of March 2016, approximately 2.3 million people in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe were experiencing Crisis levels of food insecurity, with an additional 217,000 people in Borno facing Emergency levels, according to the Cadre Harmonisé. A national inter-agency Standard Monitoring and Assessment of Relief and Transitions (SMART) nutrition survey during the July-to-September 2015 lean season recorded global acute malnutrition levels of 11.5 percent in Borno and 10.9 percent in Yobe; however, state-level data may under-represent localized pockets of significantly higher acute malnutrition, according to the April UN assessment report. The UN estimates that at least 242,000 children in Borno and 136,000 children in Yobe are experiencing moderate acute malnutrition. While screening, referral, and community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) services are available in formal IDP camps in Borno s Maiduguri LGA, at least 10 wards within the LGA lack active screening and referral services, resulting in limited access to CMAM services for vulnerable households outside the camps, the UN reports. USAID/OFDA is supporting an NGO partner to address nutrition needs in Borno by training health workers and community volunteers on infant and young child feeding practices, which contribute to the prevention of malnutrition. The volunteers are in turn sensitizing mothers on improved child feeding practices and organizing the women into village-level support groups to promote adherence to nutrition guidelines. As of late March, the NGO had provided nearly 650 pregnant and lactating women with education on infant and young child feeding practices. USAID/FFP continues to support five NGO partners and WFP to reach more than 400,000 individuals in northeastern Nigeria with cash-based emergency food assistance, nutrition sensitization, and cash-for-work activities. USAID/FFP also supports the UN Children s Fund (UNICEF) through the in-kind provision of ready-to-usetherapeutic food used in CMAM interventions in the northeast. To date in FY 2016, USAID/FFP has provided more than $25.6 million to address food insecurity and malnutrition in northeastern Nigeria. Protection issues continue to negatively affect vulnerable households in northeastern Nigeria. Boko Haram-related violence resulted in more than 370 civilian deaths and injured approximately 280 people between January 1 and April 26, according to the Protection Sector Working Group (PSWG), the coordinating body for protection activities in Nigeria. Nearly 5,240 civilians escaped, were released, or were rescued from Boko Haram during the same period. In mid-march, protection actors conducted needs assessments of nearly 1,000 survivors of Boko Haram-related violence sheltering in IDP camps in Adamawa and Borno. The survivors reported experiencing abduction, familial separation, 3

4 and physical and sexual violence, as well as witnessing the murder of family and community members. The PSWG continues to advocate for survivor-centered care, particularly for those detained by the GoN. Among other critical humanitarian needs, vulnerable households in the northeast require health, livelihoods, shelter, and WASH support, the UN reports. In the mid-april UN assessments, surveyed households in Borno and Yobe lacked access to health services, income-generating activities, shelter support, and safe drinking water. Boko Haramrelated conflict has resulted in significant infrastructure damage in the northeast, including the destruction of approximately 75 percent of the water supply infrastructure in Borno and 9 percent in Yobe. In addition, nearly 200 of approximately 650 LGA health facilities in surveyed areas or 30 percent have been damaged, destroyed, or looted. Health facilities also lack sufficient staff and supplies to meet the health needs of the current population, and access to health care in host communities, informal IDP sites, and newly accessible areas remains limited. IDP sites are subject to overcrowding, and available shelters require substantial repairs. While some IDPs have received relief commodities, assessment participants noted that many people lack basic household goods, including buckets, dignity kits, and soap. With $2.5 million in FY 2015 assistance, a USAID/OFDA NGO partner is providing agriculture, nutrition, and WASH support, among other assistance, to vulnerable households in Borno. As of mid-april, the partner had distributed WASH kits to approximately 3,800 households in Borno and installed more than 10 solar water pumps to serve host communities and IDPs in the state. USAID/OFDA recently provided another NGO partner with $2 million to support vulnerable households in northeastern Nigeria with emergency relief commodities, shelter assistance, and WASH support. The NGO will focus on LGAs in Adamawa and Borno states, including Maiduguri. To date in FY 2016, the USG has provided nearly $37.5 million to assist Boko Haram-affected households in Nigeria. USAID/OFDA also supports a regional rapid response fund through UNICEF, which enables the UN agency to quickly respond to newly identified humanitarian needs in the West Africa region. UNICEF with $1.1 million from USAID/OFDA through the rapid response mechanism recently began implementing WASH and nutrition interventions in Borno. As of May 19, donors had contributed nearly $43.4 million approximately 18 percent of the requested total toward the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Nigeria. Released by the UN in January, the HRP requests $248 million in humanitarian assistance to meet the urgent needs of approximately 3.9 million people in northeastern Nigeria. CAMEROON Humanitarian access remains limited in Far North due to ongoing Boko Haram attacks, as well as conflict between the insurgent group and Cameroonian military forces, the UN reports. Far North recorded more than 90 security incidents related to the Boko Haram conflict from January April 2016, according to IOM; an estimated 55 percent of these incidents occurred in Far North s Mayo-Sava Department. IOM registered nearly 191,000 IDPs in Far North in April a 12 percent increase from the estimated 170,000 IDPs identified during IOM s previous DTM assessment in February. Approximately 83 percent of the IDPs in Far North were displaced by Boko Haram-related conflict, IOM reports; the remaining 17 percent were displaced by annual flooding in the region. Far North s Logone-et-Chari Department hosts 60 percent of the region s displaced people, including more than 110,000 IDPs, nearly 26,000 returnees, and nearly 6,900 unregistered refugees. While internal displacement in Far North continues, the region recorded no new arrivals of unregistered Nigerian refugees between March and April. IOM recorded more than 120 unregistered refugees from Nigeria between December 2015 and February 2016; the region s remaining 8,100 unregistered refugees arrived between 2014 and As of late March, Far North s Minawao refugee camp hosted more than 58,600 people, including 4,400 people registered between January and March 2016, UNHCR reports. Of the total, 97 percent of the refugees were from Nigeria s Borno State. Primary needs in the camp include health, nutrition, protection, shelter, and WASH assistance, according to 4

5 UNHCR. More than 23 response actors including eight GRC ministries, six UN agencies, and nine international and local NGOs were providing assistance to households sheltering in Minawao camp as of late March. To date in FY 2016, State/PRM has provided the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with nearly $2.2 million to assist conflict-affected households in Far North. USAID/FFP has provided 7,380 metric tons of in-kind food assistance, valued at nearly $11 million, to WFP in Cameroon to support Nigerian refugees and other vulnerable populations affected by the Boko Haram crisis to date in FY USAID/FFP s contribution includes rice, vegetable oil and pulses, as well as fortified flour to meet the nutritional needs of young children and pregnant and lactating women. The 2016 HRP for Cameroon seeks $282 million in humanitarian assistance to support approximately 1.1 million vulnerable people throughout the country, including 624,000 people in Far North. As of May 19, donors had contributed more than $46.5 million approximately 12 percent of the requested total toward the appeal. The USG has provided nearly $13.7 million in FY 2016 assistance for response efforts in Cameroon to date. CHAD Although the security situation in Chad s Lac Region remains unpredictable due to sporadic Boko Haram attacks and Chadian military counter-offensives, the UN reports that a decrease in violence in recent months has enabled relief organizations to provide humanitarian assistance to the majority of the people displaced around Lake Chad. Response actors continue to conduct rapid assessments to register displaced people; more than 100,000 people were displaced in Lac between May 2015 and April 2016, according to the UN. The total includes more than 58,000 registered IDPs; an estimated 39,000 unregistered people in Lac s Daboua, Liwa, Kangalom, and Tchoukoutalia sub-prefectures; approximately 10,000 Chadian returnees; and more than 6,000 Nigerian refugees. From March 25 April 7, the Government of Chad and food security actors in the country including FEWS NET, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and WFP conducted an Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) surveying more than 4,800 households throughout Chad. EFSA results indicate that while vulnerable households throughout the Sahelian belt are experiencing food insecurity due to erratic rainfall and a resultant decrease in cereal production, vulnerable people in Lac, particularly IDPs, face additional strain due to Boko Haram-related conflict. Insecurity in Lac has negatively affected livelihoods, limited trade flows, and disrupted market supply, the EFSA reports. In addition, the percentage of households experiencing food insecurity in Bahr El Gazel and Kanem regions, which neighbor Lac, has increased by approximately 10 percentage points since November 2015 due to insecure livelihoods, as well as a prolonged lean season. As of March, more than 328,000 people in the three regions including more than 136,000 people in Lac were experiencing Crisis levels of food insecurity, according to the Cadre Harmonisé. USAID/FFP has provided WFP with more than $6.4 million in FY 2016 to support vulnerable households in Lac with emergency food programs, including food vouchers and in-kind food assistance. The 2016 HRP for Chad seeks $567 million to assist approximately 1.8 million vulnerable people throughout the country, including more than 250,000 people in Lac. As of May 19, donors had contributed more than $53.1 million approximately 9 percent of the requested total toward the appeal. The USG has provided more than $7.4 million in FY 2016 assistance for response efforts in Chad to date. NIGER On May 17, ERC O Brien called for increased support for response efforts in Niger s Diffa Region, following a visit to observe the humanitarian situation. During the visit, ERC O Brien visited Diffa s Assaga site, where more than 15,000 people including IDPs, refugees, and returnees are sheltering, according to the UN. The ERC also met with representatives from the Government of the Republic of Niger (GoRN), including President Mahamadou Issoufou, to discuss strategies to bolster the humanitarian response. ERC O Brien noted that Boko Haram-related conflict has resulted 5

6 in significant displacement within Diffa and emphasized that armed groups should respect international law regarding the protection of civilians. Displacement linked to military clearance operations continues in Diffa. The GoRN recently called for the evacuation of seven villages affecting approximately 8,500 people along Niger s border with Nigeria due to increasing military clearance operations in the area, the UN reports. Counter-offensives against Boko Haram by Nigerian and Cameroonian military forces have also pushed the militant group closer to Diffa Region, exacerbating insecurity in the region. Diffa recorded 16 Boko Haram-related security incidents in April, representing 50 percent of total incidents registered since January, according to the UN. Vulnerable households in Diffa, particularly people residing near Lake Chad and the Komadougou River, will likely experience Crisis and Stressed IPC 2 levels of food insecurity through September 2016 as a result of Boko Haramrelated conflict, according to an April FEWS NET report. FEWS NET predicts that these households may adopt negative coping mechanisms, including reducing food consumption and diverting household expenses to purchase food. Nearly 160,000 people in Diffa more than one quarter of the region s population were experiencing Crisis levels of food insecurity as of March, according to the Cadre Harmonisé. In coordination with NGO partners, WFP is supporting food-insecure households in Diffa through cash-based transfers, food-for-asset activities, and in-kind food assistance. As of late March, WFP had assisted 120,000 displaced people and host community members in Diffa. To date in FY 2016, USAID/FFP has contributed nearly $9 million to WFP to provide vulnerable households in Diffa with emergency food assistance. USAID/OFDA is supporting an NGO partner to provide vulnerable households in Diffa with agriculture, livelihoods, nutrition, protection, and WASH support. In late April, the partner conducted WASH information sessions including training on handwashing, personal hygiene, and water treatment for 560 IDPs and host community members in Diffa Department. In addition, the NGO held multiple community discussions in Diffa, Kabléwa, and Mainé Soroa departments on protection-related issues, including education, child rights, livelihoods-related protection issues, and the unique protection risks experienced by adolescent girls and boys. The partner also conducted two gender-based violence trainings, as well as a general protection training, which covered psychosocial needs and the importance of case management, among other topics. As of May 19, donors had contributed more than $78.6 million approximately 25 percent of the requested total toward the 2016 HRP for Niger. The HRP seeks $316 million to assist approximately 1.5 million vulnerable people throughout the country, including more than 150,000 IDPs, refugees, and returnees in Diffa. To date in FY 2016, the USG has provided more than $17.1 million for response efforts in Niger. CONTEXT Following escalated violence in northeastern Nigeria, the GoN declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe in March In the first half of 2014, attacks carried out by Boko Haram militants killed more than 3,000 people, and in mid-2014, a shift in tactics to the seizing and holding of territory further exacerbated the region s humanitarian crisis. Significant numbers of people fled Boko Haram in northern Nigeria, exacerbating humanitarian needs in the surrounding countries of Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. In late 2014 and early 2015, Boko Haram attacks spread further into neighboring countries, with suicide bombings and other attacks beginning in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, causing internal displacement in each of the three countries already hosting significant Nigerian refugee populations. Violence continues to displace populations across Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. In communities hosting IDPs, refugees, and returnees, the presence of additional displaced families is straining local resources and exacerbating food, relief commodity, shelter, livelihood, and protection needs, among others. In late 2015 and early 2016, the U.S. Ambassador to Chad James A. Knight, U.S. Chargé d Affaires, a.i., Matthew D. Smith, and U.S. Ambassador to Niger Eunice S. Reddick redeclared disasters for the complex emergencies in Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, respectively. 6

7 USG HUMANITARIAN FUNDING FOR THE LAKE CHAD BASIN RESPONSE IN FY IMPLEMENTING PARTNER ACTIVITY LOCATION AMOUNT Implementing Partner Logistics Support and Relief Commodities, Shelter and Settlements, WASH USAID/OFDA 3 Northeastern Nigeria $2,000,000 IOM OCHA Humanitarian Coordination and Information Management, Protection Humanitarian Coordination and Information Management Nigeria, Countrywide $262,513 Nigeria, Countrywide $1,000,000 Chad, Countrywide $500,000 UNHAS Logistics Support and Relief Commodities Chad, Countrywide $500,000 Nigeria, Countrywide $1,000,000 Program Support Costs $135,583 TOTAL USAID/OFDA FUNDING $5,398,096 USAID/FFP 2 Cash Transfers for Food, Food Implementing Partners Northeastern Nigeria $18,806,476 Vouchers Cash Transfers for Food Northeastern Nigeria $6,000,000 Humanitarian Coordination and Risk Management Policy and Practice Nigeria, Countrywide $800,000 U.S. In-Kind Food Aid Far North, Cameroon $10,989,338 WFP Food Vouchers Lac, Chad $1,000,000 U.S. In-Kind Food Aid Lac, Chad $5,409,600 Food Vouchers, Local and Regional Procurement Diffa, Niger $2,000,000 U.S. In-Kind Food Aid Diffa, Niger $6,997,900 TOTAL USAID/FFP FUNDING $52,003,314 STATE/PRM ICRC UNHCR UNHAS Protection and Assistance to Victims of the Conflict Protection and Multi-Sectoral Assistance to IDPs Protection and Multi-Sectoral Assistance to Refugees and Returnees Logistics Support and Relief Commodities Northeastern Nigeria $7,700,000 Far North, Cameroon $2,150,000 Diffa, Niger $2,700,000 Nigeria, Countrywide $2,800,000 Diffa, Niger $4,750,000 Cameroon, Countrywide $500,000 Niger, Countrywide $700,000 TOTAL STATE/PRM FUNDING $21,300,000 TOTAL USG HUMANITARIAN FUNDING FOR THE LAKE CHAD BASIN RESPONSE IN FY 2016 $78,701,410 USG HUMANITARIAN FUNDING FOR THE LAKE CHAD BASIN RESPONSE IN FY TOTAL USAID/OFDA FUNDING $36,185,857 TOTAL USAID/FFP FUNDING $102,436,217 TOTAL STATE/PRM FUNDING $74,600,000 TOTAL USAID/NIGERIA FUNDING $33,800,000 TOTAL USG HUMANITARIAN FUNDING FOR THE LAKE CHAD BASIN RESPONSE IN FY $247,022,074 1 Year of funding indicates the date of commitment or obligation, not appropriation, of funds. 2 USAID/OFDA funding represents anticipated or actual obligated amounts as of May 25, Estimated value of food assistance and transportation costs at time of procurement; subject to change. 7

8 PUBLIC DONATION INFORMATION The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations. A list of humanitarian organizations that are accepting cash donations for disaster responses around the world can be found at USAID encourages cash donations because they allow aid professionals to procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time, and warehouse space); can be transferred very quickly and without transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region; and ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate assistance. More information can be found at: USAID Center for International Disaster Information: or Information on relief activities of the humanitarian community can be found at USAID/OFDA bulletins appear on the USAID website at 8